1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel design of a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a PDP design that results in improved brightness and luminous efficiency while allowing for a reduced address discharge voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
A PDP is a device that produces an image via an electric discharge. PDPs are becoming popular due to its predominant display performance, such as brightness and viewing angle. A principle of the PDP is that strong AC or DC voltage is applied to two electrodes to generate gas discharge that radiates ultraviolet rays, and radiation of the ultraviolet rays excites a phosphor layer within a discharge cell to produce visible rays.
PDPs are classified into DC-type and AC-type PDPs according to a discharging manner. The DC-type PDP has a structure in which all electrodes are exposed to a discharge space and electric charges are directly moved between corresponding electrodes. The AC-type PDP has a structure in which at least one electrode is enclosed by a dielectric layer and discharge is caused by wall charge, without direct movement of electric charges between the corresponding electrodes.
Also, the PDP can be classified into facing discharge-type and surface discharge-type PDPs according to an arrangement structure of the electrodes. The facing discharge-type PDP includes pairs of sustain electrodes each positioned on upper and lower substrates, where discharge is vertically generated between the substrates. The surface discharge-type PDP includes pairs of sustain electrodes positioned on the same substrate, where discharge is generated parallel to the substrate. In spite of increased luminous efficiency, the facing discharge-type PDP has a disadvantage in that a phosphor layer is easily deteriorated by plasma. Recently, the surface discharge-type PDP has come into wide use.
However, surface discharge AC PDPs have limited performance because of their design. For example, the shape of the discharge cells limits the amount of phosphor that can be deposited within, thus limiting the amount of visible light that can be generated. When ultraviolet radiation is produced in the discharge cell, it is not uniformly transmitted to the phosphor, thus limiting brightness and luminance efficiency. Also, the address and the sustain electrodes are separated by a large distance requiring a large voltage to be applied to these electrodes to achieve the requisite address discharge. What is therefore needed is a design for a PDP that overcomes these problems.